Will miss Tendulkar's presence in the Indian squad: Bedi

October 15, 2013 15:38 IST

India's legendary left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi on Monday said he is not surprised by Sachin Tendulkar's decision to retire from cricket after the two-Test series against the West Indies next month.

Bedi believes Tendulkar, 40, could have still played for a while, but is glad that he himself took the decision to quit and was not forced by anyone.

"I had said last time that when to announce his retirement should be left to the one of the greatest batsman the game has ever seen. The decision had to come sooner than later. I am glad that he has taken the call to hang his boots," Bedi told Rediff.com.

Bedi, who is an ardent Tendulkar fan, said he has no plans to come down to the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai (where the match is likely to be staged) to watch the batting icon play his 200th and last Test match, but will follow the game on television.

"I am growing old and will miss seeing him live. I will definitely watch the game on television," he added.

Last week, Tendulkar announced his decision to retire from Test cricket after playing his landmark 200th Test against the West Indies next month.

The 40-year-old, who hasn't been in the best of form in recent times, informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India about his decision to quit Test cricket after a glorious career, spanning 24 years, during which he aggregated 15,837 runs, at an average of 53.86, from 198 appearences.

In 463 ODI matches, the run-machine scored a whopping 18,426 runs, at an average of 44.83.

He is the only batsman to score 100 international centuries -- 51 in Tests and 49 in ODIs.